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Linda News

19 Mar 2024

Bollinger Delivers Fast Response Cutter David Duren

(Photo: Bollinger Shipyards)

Bollinger Shipyards recently delivered the USCGC David Duren to the U.S. Coast Guard in Key West, Fla. This is the 182nd vessel Bollinger has delivered to the U.S. Coast Guard over a 35-year period and the 56th Fast Response Cutter (FRC) delivered under the current program.“We’re incredibly proud to deliver the USCGC David Duren, the first of three Fast Response Cutters to be homeported in Astoria, Oregon,” said Bollinger President & CEO Ben Bordelon. “We’re confident that pound for pound…

26 Feb 2024

Many Different Vessels but One Goal – Passenger Safety

© Olivier / Adobe Stock

Because there are so many different kinds of passenger vessels, the critical topic of passenger safety can sometimes appear as a set of niche topics, each one just distantly connected to another. After all, passengers aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean face safety issues that are much different than a commuter going from Jersey City to Manhattan or a tourist crossing from the Mukilteo, Wash. ferry terminal to Whidbey Island or a family on a fishing vessel in Miami.Importantly, though, for passenger vessel operators, a commitment to safety is not siloed.

10 Jan 2024

UN Security Council Demands Houthis Stop Red Sea Attacks

File photo: The U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) defeats a combination of Houthi missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles in the Red Sea, October 19, 2023. (Photo: Aaron Lau / U.S. Navy)

The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday demanded Yemen's Houthis immediately end attacks on ships in the Red Sea and cautioned against escalating tensions while implicitly endorsing a U.S.-led task force that has been defending vessels.The demand came in a Security Council resolution that also called on the Houthis to release the Galaxy Leader, a Japanese-operated vehicle carrier linked to an Israeli businessman that the group commandeered on Nov. 19, and its 25-person crew.Eleven members voted for the measure demanding the Houthis "immediately cease all attacks…

03 Jan 2024

Germany Calls Red Sea Attacks Unacceptable, Assessing Mission Options

© michael715 / Adobe Stock

Attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea are unacceptable and must stop, a spokesperson for the German foreign ministry said on Wednesday, adding that Berlin was in contact with Brussels on a possible European Union maritime mission in the region."These attacks are fully unacceptable and must stop," the spokesperson told a government press conference in Berlin.We are examining all options that are possible under international and constitutional law, he added when asked about how Berlin would respond.(Reuters - Reporting by Rachel More and Linda Pasquini; Editing by Miranda Murray)

28 Dec 2023

USCG's New Cutters Can’t Arrive Soon Enough

(Photo: Brandon Giles / U.S. Coast Guard)

The much-needed replacement for the U.S. Coast Guard’s long-serving medium endurance cutters (WMEC) took a giant step closer to joining the fleet as the first Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) was launched and christened at Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) in Panama City, Fla. on October 27, 2023.The future USCGC Argus (WMSM 915) was christened by the ship’s sponsor, Captain (Ret.) Beverly Kelley, the first woman to command a U.S. military vessel, the 95-foot patrol boat, USCGC Cape Newagen (WPB 95318).

18 Dec 2023

Hapag-Lloyd to Reroute Ships Due to Red Sea Safety Concerns

© Björn Wylezich / Adobe Stock

Germany's Hapag-Lloyd said on Monday it had decided to reroute several ships via the Cape of Good Hope, after the company held a a crisis meeting to discuss Houthi attacks targeting ships in the Red Sea."This will be done until the passage through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea will be safe again for vessels and their crews," a Hapag-Lloyd spokesperson said.(Reuters - Reporting by Christina Amann, Writing by Linda Pasquini, Editing by Rachel More)

16 Nov 2023

Bollinger Delivers USCGC Melvin Bell to the US Coast Guard

(Photo: Bollinger Shipyards)

Bollinger Shipyards on Thursday announced it has delivered the USCGC Melvin Bell to the U.S. Coast Guard in Key West, Fla. This is the 181st vessel Bollinger has delivered to the U.S. Coast Guard over a 35-year period and the 55th Fast Response Cutter (FRC) delivered under the current program.“We’re incredibly proud to deliver the USCGC Melvin Bell, the final of six Fast Response Cutters to be homeported in Boston, the birthplace of the U.S. Coast Guard,” said Bollinger president and CEO, Ben Bordelon.

09 Nov 2023

Hapag-Lloyd Posts 77% Drop in Nine-month Net Profit, Cuts Outlook

© olrat / Adobe Stock

German container shipper Hapag-Lloyd on Thursday posted a net profit of 3.2 billion euros ($3.43 billion) for the first nine months of 2023, down by 77% from a year earlier, and cut its forecasts for full-year earnings.Net profit was down from 13.8 billion euros in comparable 2022 when the shipping industry, a proxy for global trade, boomed amid post-pandemic recovery and because logistics disruptions drove up prices for consumers.This year, the global economic slowdown and the clearing of port log-jams sent freight rates down sharply…

27 Oct 2023

Eastern Launches First Offshore Patrol Cutter USCGC Argus

(Photo: Vard Marine, Inc.)

The lead ship in the U.S. Coast Guard's Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) program, USCGC Argus (WMSM-915), was launched and christened during a ceremony at Eastern Shipbuilding Group's Nelson St. Shipyard in Panama City, Fla.Attended by more than 3,000 guests, the event featured a keynote address delivered by Admiral Linda Fagan, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.“The Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) is one of the service’s highest acquisition priorities and is absolutely…

28 Sep 2023

No Restart for ExxonMobil's California Offshore Platforms as Judge Upholds Tanker Trucks Ban

Credit: Patrick
/AdobeStock

A U.S. judge on Wednesday refused to overturn a California county's decision to block Exxon Mobil Corp from using tanker trucks to ship crude oil from coastal facilities to inland refineries while a ruptured pipeline is fixed.U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in Los Angeles denied Exxon's bid to reverse the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors' denial of a trucking permit in early 2022, saying the board's decision was substantially supported by evidence that transporting crude…

24 Jul 2023

Biden Nominates Admiral Lisa Franchetti to be First Woman to Lead US Navy

Admiral Lisa Franchetti (Photo: U.S. Navy)

President Joe Biden on Friday nominated Admiral Lisa Franchetti to lead the Navy, an historic step that would break a gender barrier in the U.S. military by making her the first woman to command the service and to become a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.The decision by Biden is a surprise. Pentagon officials had widely expected the nomination to go to Admiral Samuel Paparo, who leads the Navy in the Pacific and who has experience grappling with the growing challenge from China.Still…

22 Jun 2023

USCG Commandant Visits Austal USA

(Photo: Austal USA)

Admiral Linda Fagan, U.S. Coast Guard Commandant, visited Austal USA Thursday to tour the Mobile, Ala. shipyard's manufacturing facilities and discuss the company’s contract for the service’s Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC).Austal USA said in a press release its leadership briefed the Commandant on the company’s steel shipbuilding production line. The 117,000 square foot steel panel line, where OPC construction will begin in mid-2024, houses state-of-the-art computerized and robotic steel processing equipment to handle the current and future demands of the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S.

18 May 2023

Ukraine Black Sea Grain Deal Extended for Two Months

© Aleksandr Lesik / Adobe Stock

The Ukraine Black Sea grain deal has been extended for two more months, in what U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hailed as "good news for the world," a day before Russia could have quit the pact over obstacles to its grain and fertiliser exports.Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan announced the extension in a televised speech and it was later confirmed by Russia, Ukraine and the United Nations.The flow of ships through the corridor had been grinding to a halt during the last few days with the deal set to expire on Thursday."The continuation is good news for the world…

23 Mar 2023

Oil Spills and Near Misses: More Ghost Tankers Ship Sanctioned Fuel

© komi$ar / Adobe Stock

An oil tanker runs aground off eastern China, leaking fuel into the water. Another is caught in a collision near Cuba. A third is seized in Spain for drifting out of control.These vessels were part of a "shadow" fleet of tankers carrying oil last year from countries hit by Western sanctions, according to a Reuters analysis of ship tracking and accident data and interviews with more than a dozen industry specialists.Hundreds of extra ships have joined this opaque parallel trade…

06 Dec 2022

Canadian, US Coast Guards Renew Pollution Contingency Plan

Mario Pelletier, Commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard and Admiral Linda Fagan, Commandant, United States Coast Guard signing the renewed Canada-United States Joint Marine Pollution Contingency Plan. (Photo: U.S. Coast Guard)

On November 19, 2022, Canadian Coast Guard Commissioner Mario Pelletier and U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Linda L. Fagan signed the renewed Canada-United States Joint Marine Pollution Contingency Plan to provide a coordinated system for planning, preparedness and response to spills occurring in the waters between the two countries.The Joint Marine Pollution Contingency Plan provides a coordinated mechanism for planning, preparing for and responding to spills in transboundary waters and establishes procedures for the coordination of spill response efforts between Canada and the U.S.

02 Nov 2022

Russia Resumes Participation in Ukraine Grain Export Deal

©Elena/AdobeStock

Russia said on Wednesday it would resume its participation in a deal to free up vital grain exports from war-torn Ukraine after suspending it over the weekend in a move that had threatened to exacerbate hunger across the world. The Russian defense ministry said it had received written guarantees from Kyiv not to use the Black Sea grain corridor for military operations against Russia. "The Russian Federation considers that the guarantees received at the moment appear sufficient, and resumes the implementation of the agreement," the ministry statement said.

07 Oct 2022

Birdon Wins Coast Guard River Buoy, Inland Construction Deal

(Image: Birdon Group)

The U.S. Coast Guard has awarded Denver-based Birdon America, Inc. a contract for the detail design and construction of its new river buoy and inland construction tenders.The deal is part of the Coast Guard's Waterways Commerce Cutter (WCC) Program to replace its aging fleet of 35 inland tenders that support the service’s aids to navigation (ATON) mission in federal inland waterways. The WCC fleet is approaching obsolescence, with an average vessel age of over 57 years and with ships still in service at 78 years old.

26 Sep 2022

Linda S. Harris Crovella Named Administrative Law Judge

© Pixel-Shot / Adobe Stock

Chairman Daniel B. Maffei announced today the hiring of Linda S. Harris Crovella to serve as an Administrative Law Judge of the Federal Maritime Commission.Judge Crovella joins the Commission after serving as an Administrative Law Judge with the Social Security Administration in Richmond, Va. and Buffalo, N.Y. for the past six years. Prior to joining the Social Security Administration, she worked at the National Labor Relations Board as a Field Attorney, investigating and litigating unfair labor practice charges…

02 Jun 2022

President Biden Instates Admiral Fagan in Historic USCG Change of Command

Photo courtesy US Coast Guard Headquarters

Adm. Karl L. Schultz was relieved as Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard by Adm. Linda L. Fagan during a military change-of-command ceremony presided over by President Joseph R. Biden Jr., Wednesday, June 1, 2022, at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, DC. Fagan makes history not only as the first woman to lead the Coast Guard, but also as the first woman Service Chief of any U.S. military service.Immediately following the change-of-command, Schultz retired from the Coast Guard after 39 years of service to the nation.

16 Jun 2022

Keel Laid for NOAA’s New Oceanographic Research Ship

A welder from Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors, LLC, welds the initials of the Oceanographer's sponsor, Linda Kwok Schatz, wife of U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, onto a steel plate that will be incorporated into the ship. (Photo: NOAA)

Houma, La. shipbuilder Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors hosted a keel-laying ceremony for NOAA’s newest oceanographic research ship, Oceanographer.“Today’s keel-laying ceremony marks a major step forward both in the construction of Oceanographer and the revitalization of NOAA’s ship fleet,” said Rear Adm. Nancy Hann, director of NOAA’s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) and the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps.Oceanographer is one of two ships being built for NOAA by TMC to support a variety of missions…

20 Jun 2022

USCG Patrol Forces Southwest Asia Holds Change of Command

Adm. Linda Fagan, commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, presents an award for service to Capt. Benjamin Berg, commander, Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA) aboard Naval Support Activity Bahrain, June 16, 2022, during a change of command ceremony. As the commander of the most extensive Coast Guard base outside of the United States, Berg served as the senior U.S. Coast Guard representative in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility, providing support to maritime security operations

Capt. Eric A. Helgen relieved Capt. Benjamin D. Berg as commander, Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA) aboard Naval Support Activity Bahrain, Thursday, June 16.As the commander of the most extensive Coast Guard base outside of the United States, Berg served as the senior U.S. Coast Guard representative in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility, providing support to maritime security operations in the north, central, and south Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

30 Jun 2022

USCG Awards Austal USA Stage 2 Offshore Patrol Cutter Contract

A recent aerial image of most of Austal USA's Mobile, Ala. facilities, including its new steel panel line addition. (Photo: Austal USA)

Mobile, Ala. shipbuilder Austal USA has been awarded a contract to build up to 11 medium-endurance Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPC) for the U.S. Coast Guard.The initial $208.26 million award supports detail design and long lead-time material for one OPC, with options for production of up to 10 additional vessels, the Coast Guard announced on Thursday. The deal could be worth up to $3.33 billion if all options are exercised.The 11 Heritage class cutters, designated as Stage 2 of the overall OPC program, follow the first four OPCs being built by Florida shipbuilder Eastern Shipbuilding Group.

06 Jun 2022

Ingalls Christens USCG National Security Cutter Calhoun

Christina Calhoun Zubowicz, ship sponsor and granddaughter of the namesake, christened the ship by breaking a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow.- Credt: HII

HII christened Legend-class national security cutter Calhoun on Saturday at its Ingalls Shipbuilding division.Calhoun (WMSL 759) is named to honor Charles L. Calhoun, the first master chief petty officer of the U.S. Coast Guard. Calhoun served in the U.S. Navy for three years during World War II and was honorably discharged in 1946 as a torpedoman second class. He enlisted in the Coast Guard that same year and held varying positions of leadership over the course of his career.“Today’s…